India, April 16 -- The Election Commission of India (ECI) will deploy 2,407 companies of central armed police forces for the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly polls on April 23, with the highest number of personnel likely to be deployed for the Murshidabad district, a senior official said on Wednesday. Elections to the 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be held in two phases - on April 23 and April 29. Votes will be counted on May 4.

The official said Murshidabad is likely to have the highest deployment with 316 companies of forces, including 240 in the Murshidabad police district and 76 in Jangipur.

Murshidabad has been witness to several incidents of violence in recent years, including clashes linked to protests over the Waqf ...